Why am I serving the Lord?

Why am I serving the Lord?

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

"Happy Transfer - I mean Thanksgiving Day!"

Good-bye Sister Bott!

Nikki, most likely, is aware that her ward members in the Indian Creek Ward have emailed me and let me know that Sister Nikki is being transferred to Albany MO on Thanksgiving Day at 8:00 am!  I miss her spunky personality and her laughter!  She has learned so much about herself, so much about patience, unconditional love, relying on the Savior, and the atonement!  She will miss Sister Bott and her area so much!  She loves the ward members and they will forever be in her heart!  On to the next adventure Sister Flink!  You got this!  Happy Transfer-Thanksgiving Day! 
 
Sweet Texts to Me (Nikki's Mom)~ 
 
"I just got a text from your daughter.  She is getting transferred to Albany, Missouri, which is a surprise to us all!  We all thought she'd stick around for at least one more transfer!  We have LOVED having her here and will really miss her!"
 
"Hey, FYI, She is getting transferred!  We will surely miss her!  She is an amazing woman!  They will have Thanksgiving Dinner--they made transfers an hour earlier so missionaries can make it over the river and through the woods!"

Monday, November 24, 2014

The Blessings Come!‏

Dear friends and family,
 
First off, Happy Thanksgiving. I love this time of year. Time to be grateful for all we have, especially our Savior Jesus Christ.
I am so grateful to be a full-time Missionary!
This week was great! We set Nanna Betty on date for Dec, 27th. She is 80 years old and continuing to prepare for baptism. What a blessing! She has committed to stop smoking and she is on her way. We are excited! We took her to the visitors center this week and that was where we had our break through, the spirit finally spoke to her heart and prompted her to act in faith. We also met with Cierra this week, and set HER on date for Dec 27th! We had 3 investigators at church, and 3 less actives! She came to church yesterday and enjoyed it.  She has to talk to her boyfriend about getting separate places or getting married, but I had investigators who lived together in Cameron and they ended up having the faith to separate and get baptized. We are hoping for the same miracle with her. Regardless, Heavenly Father is providing and we are working hard!
80 year old Nanna Betty!
We had our fireside this Sunday, it was called, "Anxiously Engaged." and it went AWESOME! Oh my goodness, I was so nervous nobody would come but they did and the chapel was filled! President and Sister Vest spoke and it was wonderful. We had a few recent converts and members bear testimony, and then the youth did a beautiful musical number. President called Sister Bott and I up on surprise and asked us to do a role play. Yikes! We did a door approach restoration lesson and it went really well. It was a great moment. The Indian Creek ward has never had a fireside put on by the missionaries. It was the first and it was a success. I am so grateful and my heart is so full towards my Heavenly Father. The members all had great feedback.
President and Sister Vest
I want to share my testimony this week of the sacrament. Lately I have understood clearly the doctrine of Christ and what it truly means for us. I have been desiring to care more and understand more fully the sacred ordinance of the sacrament. To do this, I have begun to do "Take it to the sacrament table." I have learned that we don't wake up Sunday morning and prepare to take the sacrament. We prepare to take the sacrament the moment after we take it on Sunday. So every night I have gone home, and I write on a piece on paper the things I could have done better at that day, thoughts I shouldn't of had, things I shouldn't of said or things I should have said, weakness I failed to overcome, actions that were not in accordance with my heavenly fathers will, anything that stopped my progression or hindered my goals to become the person that heavenly father needs me to be. I can testify to you that I have had sacred and personal experiences with the sacrament as I have "Taken it all to the sacrament table" and THEN I can truly recommit myself to my father in heaven for that next week. Our savior Jesus Christ and his atonement is in vain if we do not utilize the gift that is given freely to each and every one of us. Repentance, Baptism, (the sacrament), Gift of the holy ghost, and endure to the end. The savior invites us to come unto him and to be TRANSFORMED. We can be cleansed and purified by the holy spirit of promise. I have found that as I have understood and taken the sacrament with a true broken heart and contrite spirit.
 
I am grateful for all of you. I am grateful for my savior Jesus Christ. I know he lives, I know he is at the head of this church and he is waiting for us, with open arms, to come unto him.
 
Look at those hot Lenexa missionaries!
Have a great week!  Happy Thanksgiving!


Sister Flink
 
P.S. What are you thankful for? Go share it.

Hey Mom~  Sister Mooders is headed home this morning. :( I am so sad I haven't been thinking much about it. I want you to go see her, she would be so happy! Payson isn't that far, make a trip out of it! Take a buddy. Thanksgiving will be good. We've been invited quite a few places. We are eating dinner with the Copeland's around 2:00, she'll probably send you a picture or something! I have a feeling I am not getting transferred, Ill stay for another one. But the call comes on Tuesday so I will know then. 6 more weeks in Indian Creek, I got this! Its going great, the area is not even close to the same as it was when I got here. It was so fun to see but was so hard in the moment. Fireside was awesome, I wrote more about it in my letter.  I love you!  NO CRYING on Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Its getting "Cold" in Kansas, but the spirit will keep you warm!‏

Well, this week was a good one. Kind of long one on foot, in the cold, but it aint no thang!
We had some good things happen. The big tender mercy this week was finding our new investigator, Anna. We were trying everyone in this one area and nobody was home. I knew we had to be there but as we went about I couldn't figure out why. We had tried every potential, less active, and members home, and nobody was there. So I turned to Sister Bott and I said, "Alright, how many doors do we need to knock before we figure out why the Lord needs us here." We had 20 minutes before our ride was coming so we decided on 5. The 2nd door we knocked, Anna opened and talked with us about the church for the entire 20 minutes. She was prepared by the Lord. He knew it, we knew it, and we are going to help her know it. We are meeting with her this week. We have been working really close with some less actives and they are progressing well. Myra is officially a "Returning Member" of the church and Tabitha is well on her way. That is such a good feeling.
 
We took Myra to the visitors center on Friday and she loved it.  Tabitha, we are taking this week. Our investigator pool is slim right now but progressing. We are teaching Diana.   They are a PMF and she is progressing. As well as Nanna Betty, she's like 80 but she's awesome!!  I want to baptize her. Cierra, a former investigator we have recently picked back up. It has taken time, patience, dilligence, and trust in the Lord, but the results are blooming in this time. And he'll send little tender mercies along the way to always keep us going, we just need to recognize them. And remember, he has never, never, forgotten us.
 
We are having a fireside on the 23rd of November and we have recieved so much support from the ward!  It has been so awesome! Ward Council yesterday was so good about getting the word and the flyers around.  I am so excited for that night. The youth are going to be singing "Come Unto Christ", it should be great and hopefully get the members going.
 
Best part of this week? ZONE TRAINING. Aka. the best refresher for the missionary soul. It was awesome, and so filled with the spirit. I'll just say that by the end of the meeting their was not a dry eye in the room and Elder Holt stood up and said, "If everyone ever questions whether or not it is ever worth it, they should come feel the power of missionary work in this room right now."
 
 I was able to bear my testimony of the doctrine of Christ, just like I have done to all of you during my emails the past few weeks. We are not what we can be, and we can only get there through our Savior Jesus Christ and his atonement and our desire to repent and progress and change.
 
I love you all! I hope you all have a great week.
Sweet Picture from A ward Member- "We are enjoying your Girls!"
They are so funny together!
Happy birthday shout out to ``My Partner In Crime, Elder Jordan Newby."

"Happy Birthday to You Elder Newby!"
 
Thanks for the Package of WARM SOCKS and boots!  I love you Mom, Dad, Kailee, McKenna!  Loved the notes and I feel the love!

Love you!   Sister Flink
 
Hey Mom, I have some bummer news for ya!
 
We had zone training this week and there was one thing that was pretty stressed...... No chatting back and forth on email. I have to be exactly obedient if I want the lord to bring us miracles. If you'd be so kind to tell the rest of the fam too. So from now on, just big emails and tell me about your week and I will do the same! Sacrifices, sacrifices. I know.
 
I love you though!
 

Monday, November 3, 2014

Another week down in the M.I.M‏

Its been a busy week! We have good things happening, the area is still difficult and tries me everyday, but we have been making good and immense progress with the members, less actives, and potential investigators.
 
This week I had to give a training on patience in district meeting!  Now for those of you who know Nikki Flink, that is what Paul calls my, "Thorn in the flesh" yet I have watched Jesus Christ's hand in shaping and changing me. I have grown so much in patience and humility because I let Heavenly Father take over and did my best and let him show me what is to be done ~ which is the hardest but the best way to ever do it. The one thing I have learned and continue to learn everyday is this simple truth, "You have a will and your will is not your Fathers."
 
I went on exchanges this week to Gardner. It was awesome.  It sometimes effects me to go to other areas and see them having investigators, success, and then I have to come back to Overland Park.  Then the thought comes to me, Patience, Humility, Patience, Perseverance, and Accessing the atonement. I put someone on date in their area and that felt awesome. It has been awhile. Then I came back to Overland Park and starting tracting the million dollar homes again. I realized something about Jesus Christ, it wasn't just because he "did it" it was because he did it!!  He loved every second of it. Because he loved his Father. But Jesus Christ had to have faith as well. Think about it!  The only time in the bible Christ EVER says "why" is when he is on the cross and the amazing part is what happened next.. he gave up the ghost anyways. He did it because he trusted his Father even though he didn't completely understand. Have you ever thought about why faith is a Christlike attribute?
 
Happy Halloween to all! Hope is was awesome. We had to stay inside and weekly plan after we had an awesome dinner.
Things are moving along, and I am learning and growing so much. I am not quite sure what I thought the Gospel entailed before I became a full time missionary, but it is nothing like what I understand now. Especially about my savior Jesus Christ. Especially about what the Doctrine of Christ truly is, "The day to day process by which we access the atonement TO CHANGE OUR NATURES."
 
This gospel is true. This work is the Lords and it continues to roll forth in power. Stand up, share and participate in the hastening of the work!   You will find joy and the blessings in heaven will be upon you. I promise you that as a representative of the Savior Jesus Christ.
 
I love you!
 
Sister Flink